It was far from a happy new year on The Buccaneers Season 1 Episode 7 as a party held by the Brightlingsea’s tested relationships, particularly in light of Nan’s big secret about being illegitimate became the topic of conversation for the U.K.’s elite. 

Nan, who so boldly declared that she was unashamed of where she came from in the previous episode, was suddenly feeling the pressure of the “whispers” (because in the 1800s, that’s how the hot gossip was spread, in addition to telegrams), and those whispers did a number on her relationship with Theo, who stood by her from the moment he found out and tried to be supportive (, yet somehow made her feel like a burden. 

The truth here is that Theo could’ve been the perfect gentleman, and Nan still would have found something wrong with his actions. Nan was subconsciously finding any string to pull to push him away, and it just so happened to occur when she felt inadequate and assumed Theo was treating her as a charity case rather than seeing his actions as a testament of his love for her. 

Theo supported her wholeheartedly (he doesn’t punish Nan for something she had no control over, as the rest of society does by questioning how she managed to land a duke and wondering if “witchcraft” had anything to do with it), but she ran from him and hid on a rooftop with Guy, which should honestly tell you everything you need to know about what her heart wants. 

My biggest issue with Nan is that she’s selfish, something that Theo even pointed out during their fight. She’s dragging his name and reputation through the mud, yet refuses to take the blame for it, all while playing these mind games and driving a wedge between two best friends who, despite having a lot of respect for each other, end up throwing food at each other and engaging in an 1800s version of WWE.

Nan’s incredibly courageous in many aspects of her life, but she’s not able to just declare what she wants, even when given the opportunity many times over, causing so much tension and turmoil, but never really owning up to her part in it. 

Theo basically gave her a way out by asking her if she loves Guy, yet she dismissed the question and turned on him for knowing about her illegitimacy and saying nothing. 

Theo’s perspective makes a lot of sense as it was never his secret to tell. He didn’t want to embarrass her or put her on the spot. Nan’s stance also has merit as she was wary about divulging this big thing in her life as she felt like when she told Guy, it pushed him away. 

Nevertheless, the secret drove a wedge between them as she felt as though she had to hide a part of herself, making it impossible to confide in him the way she did with Guy as she thought she’d lose everything. And, in turn, it allowed her and Guy to become closer as he knew her better than anyone. It’s not exactly a recipe for success for a newly engaged couple. 

But still, none of that addresses the situation at hand—her feelings for Guy that she’s been repressing. 

Guy was forced to recite word for word what he wrote in the telegram (which he somehow remembered despite being drunk as a skunk), passionately professing his love for Nan in front of Theo, and I honestly have no idea how she kept her composure and didn’t just jump into his arms. 

He was wearing his heart on his sleeve, telling her that his heart was eternally hers, even if they could never be together. I’m swooning because it was the most perfect and beautiful letter. 

But instead of this massive moment forcing Nan to make a decision, they both skirted around their feelings once again. 

Guy and Nan are just like two ships passing in the night—when one of them is ready to take action on their feelings, the other shoots it down, and vice-versa. 

After Guy declared his love, Theo gave her a chance to own up to her feelings, but naturally, when she tried to ask Guy if he still meant all those things, he shot it all down telling her that they need to stop doing this dance and informing her of his engagement to Jean, which I don’t actually believe is real because if they were to be wed, wouldn’t she be with him at the party?

Guy likely believes that he’s doing the right thing for Nan as she has a more promising future with Theo, and he doesn’t want to hurt his best bud either.

You should never choose the man with the title over the man that you can confide in and comfortably lay on the roof with, as your fingers brush with desire and every touch is electric, however, when Guy said they need to “free each other,” he gave Nan no other choice, and thus, the episode ends with Nan and Theo driving away in their carriage, the engagement still on, as Guy apologizes to Theo for not being honest with him, asks him to take care of Nan, and will likely regret letting the girl of his dreams slip away for the millionth time before circumstance brings them back together again. 

Credit: The Buccaneers/AppleTV

I know that this whole love triangle is necessary for drama-sake, but I just want to shake Guy and Nan. On the other hand, I pride the lot for being so open and honest about no more secrets as that’s incredibly rare when it comes to complicated romances on TV… however, for that reason, it’s also so frustrating as to why Nan and Guy allowed it to continue when they were given a chance to run off together and live happily ever after, no harm, no foul.

Nan doesn’t even care about becoming a duchess, so what’s keeping her with Theo? Though I imagine if she were to ever find out about her mother’s predicament, and the fact that she told Tracy she’s divorcing him once Nan is married and she gets the power of being a duchess’ mom, she would go through with the wedding for her sake. 

Nan and Guy’s feelings might not be obvious to anyone else, but Patti picked up on the flirtation immediately, and I expect when it comes down to it, she’ll be the one to convince Nan to follow her heart so she doesn’t end up in a relationship with a man she resents, though in this case, Theo is nothing like Tracy and actually loves her daughter. 

I’m firmly on Team Guy because Nan is one of the lucky people in this world who gets to choose her partner based on love. She complicates a matter where there should be no complication, and when looking at the problems of the other “Americans,” she has it easy. 

Jinny’s relationship with Seadown is crumbling behind the scenes as she’s finding it harder to pretend, especially as she’s expecting. No one ever uttered the word “pregnant,” but she touched her belly enough times to indicate that she was with child—a child with a monster who continued to harass and embarrass Lizzy at every turn. Did no one notice him being a complete creep when they were playing the blindfold game? Someone needs to hold that man accountable. 

Jinny attempts to run away at one point but comes right back out of fear of what he might do to her. I feel for her, but she also avoided all the red flags and warnings from her friends so while she’s a victim, she’s also dug herself into an impossible situation. 

Mabel thought that her decision to get married would provide her with a cover so she could be herself and continue on a dalliance with Honoria, but she’s learning that isn’t the case. During their brief yet heavy conversation, Honoria delivers the most gutwrenching line to Mabel—“I hate you for making me feel like I could be loved.” 

Honoria has truly made the most progress in these seven episodes, flourishing into a self-realized and brave person, who broaches the topic of Richard’s relationship with Testvalley. She informs him that she knows he was sexually abused by her and doesn’t think he should continue carrying the shame, which prompts him to come clean to his mother, who, in a shocking twist reveals that she always knew and pretty much did nothing about it other than send her away before he could bring “any shame” to the family. 

When he tries to inform her of the damage the relationship caused him, she’s dismissive and tells him to stop acting like a baby and be a man. I’d be surprised by this cold display, but it’s in line with what Honoria and Dick said about their parents earlier in the episode, and it’s honestly no surprise that Seadown is who he is. They probably know all about that too and just turn a blind eye as poor Jinny suffers. 

Honoria finally taps in Conchita when Dick is emotional on the roof. Though he doesn’t tell her about the extent of the hurt, he does apologize for bringing her into his suffocating family, as she consoles him and tells him that he’s stuck with her as family now. Conchita is his lifeline—and his way out, so I hope he takes it. 

When seeing what everyone’s dealing with, Nan’s problems feel so small and inconsequential—whomever she chooses to be with (and it should be Guy), she’ll have a life filled with love, wonder, and experiences, the whisperings be damned because both men think she’s entirely perfect just the way she is.

What did you think of the penultimate episode? How do you think the season finale will pan out? Will Patty’s decision to divorce Tracy influence Nan’s decision? Will Guy attend the wedding? Will Nan get cold feet at the altar?

It’s Christmas on The Buccaneers Season 1 Episode 6, and while the festivities are underway with the British sipping tea and the brash Americans fittingly indulging in a snowball fight, there is also plenty of drama bubbling up to the surface, with Lord Seadown landing on Santa’s naughty list of TV characters. In those “end of the year” roundups, let’s all make sure he ends up at the top of the “worst” and “villains” lists, okay? Thanks. 

Seadown takes his manipulation tactics to the next level, but in the process, seems to create a new enemy out of Nan, who will surely keep him on her radar from now on for exposing her private secret to the duchess in an attempt to humiliate her.  

His behavior may have done a number on Lizzy—and though she’s been fighting that shame for quite some time, she’s also not one to back down from the fight—but Nan is empowered by this newfound freedom; she no longer has to carry the weight of being illegitimate or worry about Theo finding out. 

Instead of allowing it to have power over her, she embraces it, boldly and confidently announcing it to everyone during the Christmas lunch, and proudly owning who she is.

Seadown may have been under the impression that he could knock Nan down a peg, but his plan wholly backfired in his face (and admittedly, it was pure joy to see the look on his face when he realized it), giving her even more power as Theo now knows the truth and still chose her—the American he fell in love with.

It’s not surprising that Theo wasn’t as shook by the revelation as the duchess as he knows better than anyone that you cannot choose how you’re born, so there should be no reason to hold it against Nan. And when you wield as much power as he does, you should be able to choose who you want to marry, based on love or whatever it is that you value. 

His declaration of love is positively received by Nan, at least on the surface as she seals it with a kiss, but those glances toward the door—and awaiting Guy—tell a different story. At this point, Nan seems to be in love with the fairytale of Theo that provides her the opportunity, however, her heart is yearning for Guy, whom she spends much more time with throughout the episode. 

At every turn, she was finding herself in his presence, willingly. The sexual tension between them could be felt every time they stepped into a room together (the stolen glances, Guy’s catalog-perfect sweater, the fact that he kicked off a conversation by saying he “just ate a walnut,” the moments were all so perfect and made us—and Nan— fall even harder). Sadly, they never allowed themselves to be honest with one another. So much went unsaid, even as Nan questioned what was in the lost telegram—things that could’ve changed the course of their respective decisions. 

But alas, they both decided to stay the course with Nan choosing to remain engaged to Theo, even after she felt “relieved” when she thought the wedding would be called off, as Guy spent Christmas with Jean, away from all the chaos of the estate. 

I especially feel sorry for Jean as she’s the only one left in the dark about the love triangle at hand, though, as someone who gifts cheese as a Christmas gift, I find her to be the ultimate catch. Any man would be lucky to have her. 

For now, it seems like the love triangle has been resolved as everyone is somewhat pleased with their choices, however, we’ll see if Nan and Guy can keep their distance or if they’ll continue to find ways to be in each other’s orbits until their feelings can no longer be denied. And when that day comes, surely, the duchess will be much more upset that Nan managed to embarrass her family and destroy “500 years of civility and sacrifice” on multiple occasions. 

Seadown’s wrath didn’t just stop at Nan as he made sure to gaslight Jinny on every occasion, forcing her to take an uncomfortable bath (why did he pour the water over her face like that?) before telling her that he loves her less when she’s around her friends and calling her notion of wanting to be a friend, sister, and daughter “childlike.” This guy is the absolute worst—but the saddest part is that Jinny feels like she has to accept this behavior because she’s been told her whole life to find a husband and walking away from him would bring the family embarrassment. 

The Buccaneers/ Apple TV

He’s not even subtle about his monstrous behavior, lifting Lizzy up after she falls in the snow and carrying her all the way to a room to essentially scold her. How did no one think that was weird and creepy?

Jinny’s gut instinct was that something was up, but when Lizzy informed her about Seadown’s actions at Runnymeade, she dismissed them and victim-blamed. It was heartbreaking since Lizzy finally confided in her friend and was coming from a place of real concern and worry, only to be dismissed, but it’s hard to place all the blame on Jinny when she’s also the victim. 

They do, however, say that if someone shows you who they are, believe them, and in this case, Seadown has a significant amount of red flags that simply cannot be ignored. 

Jinny stood by as he completely embarrassed her sister, attempting to ruin her chances at love and happiness, all the while noting “Your shame is not my shame,” a stark contrast to the sisterly love she displayed at the beginning of the season. I’m just hoping Jinny comes to her senses and escapes this toxic relationship before it’s too late and too dangerous. He keeps trying to isolate and estrange her from her loved ones in hopes of gaining more control over her, but it’s rather unhealthy to make your significant other your whole world. 

Now that Nan has witnessed his brutality first-hand, maybe she and Lizzy can swap stories and pull in Honoria, who knows all too well that her brother sucks, and set a plan in motion to save Jinny. Her strength lies in her sisters and besties, a fact Seadown is clearly aware of. 

Honoria, however, is likely mending a broken heart after Mabel accepted Miles’ proposal. I know the moment probably caught her off-guard, however, Mabel did warn her she was working on a plan to stay in London, and considering the times and the atmosphere, this is the only plan that will ever work. And it’s a union that’s mutually beneficial because it will appease the parents while allowing them both to do whatever (and whoever) they want. 

If you aren’t getting married for love, you better be getting what you want out of the marriage, and it seems like Mabel’s the only one who seems to have it all figured out! 

The Buccaneers/ Apple TV

Conchita and Dick did actually marry for love—and the two can’t live without the other, nor can they go a few hours keeping their hands off each other. However, I struggle to find the joy in their relationship because of whatever his weird connection to Mrs. Testvalley is. 

After Honoria and Conchita bonded about being more free-spirited, she realized that her brother finally has the chance at happiness and freedom that they all seek out. She then informed Mrs. Testvalley of that, after seeing her spy on Conchita and Dick, meaning that Honoria was clearly aware of her brother’s relationship with the governess. It’s unclear if she’s gone for good—though when Dick tries to convince her to stay, she tells him that Conchita is one of many who will never understand “us”—but I remain convinced that she’s also Nan’s biological mother, so I hope we get more insight into her character and the control/reach she has over him. 

And that concludes the episode titled “It’s Christmas”, with Christmas at Tintagel’s ending on a rather controversial note for everyone involved—and here you thought your family holidays were bad.

The Buccaneers Season 1 Episode 5 reunited Nan, Theo and Guy, a friendship that took on a very weird vibe following Guy’s very candid telegram in which he poured his heart out for his best friend’s fiancé. A telegram that Nan, unfortunately, never received and that ended up in the hands of Theo instead. 

Now, before you start feeling sorry for Theo, he showed a different side of himself during the episode, a side that Nan has never seen before, and I’d argue one that revealed his true colors. He later informed her that he wasn’t being himself during the Bonfire night at Guy’s (celebrating Guy Fawke’s failed Gunpowder Plot, no less, which allowed them to deliver some very on-the-nose lines about Theo “burning Guy to the ground” without anyone batting an eyelash), however, is that really the way anyone treats their best friend… a best friend that he knows is going through another kind of hell in the aftermath of his mother’s death? 

Theo basically throws it in Guy’s face that he’s poor now and can’t afford the servants and staff, which is just ugly and telling. Of course, his attempt at belittling Guy comes from a place of insecurity as he knows how Guy feels about Nan, and he’s desperately afraid of losing her. If he hadn’t revealed that Guy’s whole plan was to find an American girl with money to save the family fortune, Nan likely would’ve remained very conflicted about her feelings for both men, but once she realized what Guy was playing at—which we know was his initial motivation before he actually fell for her—she shot him down as both a friend and a romantic interest. It was brutal and heartbreaking, especially when you consider that it’s not that far off from what Lord Seadown’s parents were doing by marrying him off to Jinny. Why was it a problem when Guy wanted someone wealthy but not when the others did? 

The unfortunate truth is that Guy’s feelings were, in fact, authentic, and the passion displayed between them when they shared a kiss was proof that Nan should’ve followed her heart to the man who would be her equal. Theo can apologize all he wants, but his actions speak far louder, and he went out of his way to invite Jean, on Guy’s behalf, to get him away from Nan. And when Guy expressed zero interest in Jean, he suggested that she’s a “very nice girl”–ahem, someone with money–whom he should give another chance. 

Also, it would have been great if Nan pieced together that Theo’s actions were a result of seeing the telegram as it was fairly obvious what was going on. 

We already have one St. George sister in a toxic and controlling marriage, and not that I think Theo is anywhere as bad as Seadown, but there are definitely red flags. 

Speaking of Jinny and Seadown, the poor girl is walking on eggshells around him and apologizing for being such a disappointment. The more we see this relationship, the more we see him breaking down her spirit, a glimmer we see return when she and Lizzy ditch the maze and go off for a fun day together. Lizzy is determined to make Seadown pay for the shame he caused her, particularly after the heartwarming and inspiring conversation she shares with Guy, who informs her that it’s not her shame to carry. 

She antagonizes Seadown at every turn—and I can’t blame her, it’s too easy. It was just heartbreaking to see Jinny sit outside of the bedroom when he locked her out as punishment. 

There’s also Mabel and Honoria, who had a moment of bliss together playing pretend before Mabel broke her heart by informing her that she’s so tired of playing pretend when all of her friends are praised and celebrated for their romantic endeavors–many of which are far worse than an LGBTQ relationship, but you know, the times. 

And then there’s Conchita and Dick, who are madly in love with each other but not on the same page when it comes to their life together. From their brief interaction, it’s revealed that she made the decision to move out with her baby, which Dick supports, though he knows it’s not going to sit well with his parents. However, it seems like he begins to doubt his decision when he sees how happy Conchie is and remembers how much he loves her—maybe trading in his power for freedom would be the wise choice in this situation.

Of course, there’s so much we still don’t know about Dick, including his prior relationship with Mrs. Testvalley, so it’s hard to determine where his heart lies or whether he’ll be brave enough to risk it all for his family. 

By the end of the episode, it’s clear that none of these newfound relationships are actually rooted in happiness, though everyone is going above and beyond to pretend that they are. Nan has chosen to stick by Theo’s side and go through with the wedding, though I anticipate many bumps in the road as she’s unable to shake her feelings for Guy. She may be heartbroken and disappointed by the revelation that he was using her, but that doesn’t mean getting over him or forgetting about him will be any easier, especially as he’s always going to be around as her fiancè’s bestie. 

Will Lizzy hold her ground or will Seadown scare her off? Will Jinny eventually confide in her girls that she’s married to the devil? How will Mabel and Honoria move on with their relationship? And will Conchita and Dick find a way to be together?